Toys ‘R’ Us Set To Return To U.S. In 2019

You can’t keep a good toy store down, apparently. According to a report from Bloomberg, the CEO of Tru Kids Inc., Richard Barry, a former Toys ‘R’ Us executive, has reportedly been pitching his vision to bring back the recently closed toy retail giant late 2019. Plans include at least six physical retail locations and an e-commerce site.

“We have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to write the next chapter of Toys R Us by launching a newly imagined omnichannel retail experience for our beloved brands here in the U.S.,” Barry said in a recent statement.

Toys ‘R’ Us closed its doors in 2018 after filing for Chapter 11, but in January 2019 Tru Kids Inc., acting as Tru Kids Brands, announced their acquisition of Toys ‘R’ Us, Babies ‘R’ Us, Geoffrey and over 20 other established consumer toy and baby brands.

While the original Toys ‘R’ Us stores had huge layouts and floor space, the new stores are will be approximately a third in size, roughly 10,000 square feet. Physical locations will also have play areas and other experiences.

Retailers such as Amazon, Walmart and Target, the competition that nipped at the heels of Toys ‘R’ Us until it was brought down, quickly became the toy market replacements, expanding their once limited in-store selection, and finding an increase of sales due to the void left by Toys ‘R’ Us.

At time of writing, no firm plans have been disclosed as to where and when the new stores will open.